REFLECTOR: Bus, Battery & Electrical Instrumentation

Scott Derrick scott at tnstaafl.net
Mon Jun 20 22:15:00 CDT 2005


> no clue to what the load was.  The voltmeter was so inaccurate as to 
> be a waste of panel space.  My caution to you is to understand that if 
> your voltmeter is indicating 13.6 volts your battery may not recover 
> the power you used to start the engine.  Each time you fly your 
> battery gets a little more discharged.  This means that you could 
> experience a total alternator failure at a time when your battery is 
> already toast.  Forewarned is forearmed.

 If your showing 13+ volts on a 12 volt battery you are putting energy 
into the battery.  An aircraft battery with the hotter electrolyte, 
compared to an auto battery will have about  12.8 voltage at rest.  If 
the voltage is higher than that its going into the battery, yes slowly  
but its going in.

If your seeing 13.6 volts, your battery is in good shape and recovering 
at a rapid pace from a starting event.

Scott.


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